Portable electronic device as health companion

ABSTRACT

A wearable consumer electronic product includes at least a housing arranged to catty operational components comprising a processor and a band having a pliable band body and a securing means arranged to secure the band body to the housing. In one embodiment, the pliable band body has a size and shape suitable for wrapping around an individual appendage and that includes an opening that leads to a cavity within the band body suitable for accumulating an amount of water and a band sensor embedded within the band body in communication with the cavity.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/221,253, filed on Sep. 21, 2015 and titled “PORTABLE ELECTRONICDEVICE AS HEALTH COMPANION”, which is incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

FIELD

The following disclosure relates to an electronic device. In particular,the following disclosure relates to a wearable electronic device thatcan be used to determine and evaluate external environmental factorsthat can affect a user's health.

BACKGROUND

Electronic devices may include certain features to enhance a userexperience. For example, an electronic device may include a sensingelement designed to monitor the user as well as a surroundingenvironment. In particular, a wearable electronic device can includemultiple sensors used for interacting with a user that can provideinformation related to a current physical condition and/or health of theuser as well as provide relevant environmental information.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a wearable consumer electronic device is described. Theconsumer electronic product includes a housing arranged to carryoperational components. The consumer electronic product also includes aninterconnected group of sensors at least one of which is carried by thehousing and operable as a sensor engine in communication with theprocessor. The sensor engine includes a first sensor capable ofdetecting a threshold amount of water and a second sensor capable ofdetecting a property of the water, where detection of the thresholdamount of water by the first sensor causes the second sensor to detectthe property of the water. In one embodiment, the consumer electronicproduct is wearable.

A method carried out by a wearable consumer electronic product includesat least the following operations: detecting at least a threshold amountof water by a first sensor, detecting a property of the water by asecond sensor in communication with the first sensor, and providing anotification in accordance with the detected property.

In another aspect, a wearable consumer electronic product includes atleast a housing arranged to carry operational components comprising aprocessor and a band having a pliable band body and a securing mechanismarranged to secure the band body to the housing. In one embodiment, thepliable band body has a size and shape suitable for wrapping around auser's appendage and that includes an opening that leads to a cavitywithin the band body suitable for accommodating an amount of water, aband sensor embedded within the band body in communication with thecavity.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the embodiments willbe, or will become, apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following figures and detailed description. It isintended that all such additional systems, methods, features andadvantages be included within this description and this summary, bewithin the scope of the embodiments, and be protected by the followingclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an electronic device;

FIG. 2 shows a rear view of electronic device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A shows representative cross sectional view of a sensor carried byan electronic device in accordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 3B shows representative cross section of band carried sensor inaccordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 4 shows a system in accordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 5 shows a particular implementation of a system as a water sensingsystem in accordance with the described embodiments;

FIG. 6 shows a particular example of a system in accordance with thedescribed embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart showing a method for using a wearableelectronic device as an environmental sensor/health monitor inaccordance with the described embodiment; and

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an electronic device suitable for use withthe described embodiments.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate and understand that, accordingto common practice, various features of the drawings discussed below arenot necessarily drawn to scale, and that dimensions of various featuresand elements of the drawings may be expanded or reduced to more clearlyillustrate the embodiments of the present invention described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following descriptions are not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

In the following detailed description, references are made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of the description and in whichare shown, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in accordancewith the described embodiments. Although these embodiments are describedin sufficient detail to enable one skilled in the art to practice thedescribed embodiments, it is understood that these examples are notlimiting such that other embodiments may be used, and changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the describedembodiments.

The following disclosure relates to an electronic device. In particular,the electronic device can have a form factor that renders the electronicdevice wearable. By wearable, it is meant that a user can wear theelectronic device as a decorative (but also functional) accessory thatcan be secured or otherwise attached to a garment or appended to auser's limb much like a watch. In the context of this discussion,however, the electronic device can be considered an accessory that canbe carried or worn by the user. In this way, the electronic device canact both as an adornment as well as a source of useful information. Theinformation can be provided real time and can be associated with acurrent physical state of the user and/or information regarding anexternal environment that the user would find of interest. For example,the electronic device can be worn as a bracelet or a watch that can betaken along on various athletic endeavors such as rock climbing,skydiving, scuba diving, jogging etc. In this way, the electronic devicecan be used to monitor (and record if need be) external conditions suchas temperature, pressure, light conditions, speed, distance and so on.The external conditions can be related to various physical activitiesthat the electronic device can anticipate that the user will take partand as such may have an impact on the user's health and/or enjoyment ofthe physical activity.

A particularly beneficial, but by no means only, use of the electronicdevice is one in which the electronic device determines that a body ofwater is nearby and based upon an anticipated context of use, theelectronic device can determine which properties of the water and/orsurrounding environment would be relevant to the user and in particularthe health of the user. For example, when the electronic devicedetermines that the user wearing the electronic device has been exposedto at least a threshold amount of water (indicating that, for example,the user/electronic device is submerged or otherwise exposed to asignificant body of water as opposed to a lesser amount of waterassociated with, for example, rain), a sensing element carried by theelectronic device and/or associated with the electronic device, can beused to detect properties of the water deemed to be of interest. Thedetection of the specific property (or properties) can, in turn, be usedto notify the user that participating in the anticipated activity mayhave an adverse impact on the user's current health or enjoyment andaction should be taken.

For example, when the electronic device detects the threshold amount ofwater using a primary sensor, a secondary sensor, or sensors, can betriggered to detect specific properties of the water. A salt contentsensor, for example, can determine a salt content of the water and basedupon the result determine that the body of water associated with thesample of water is either a fresh water lake/pool/river, or an ocean.Once the type of water is established, other sensors can come into playspecifically designed to detect properties most likely to be associatedwith the type of water and that could potentially have a substantialimpact on the health of the user or the enjoyment of an activity by theuser. For example, if the type of water is determined to be salt, ageo-location sensor can be used to determine a geo-location of the userthat can be used to identify the body of water associated with the watersample. Another sensor can be designed to detect bio-matter such asdangerous pathogens that if detected can trigger a warning to avoidentering the body of water or leave the body of water if alreadyentered. Another sensor could be used to detect chemicals in the water,and so on.

It should also be noted that the electronic device could be worn in sucha way that the amount of water detected can be associated with sweatoriginating from the individual wearing the electronic device. Sweat isa salty, watery solution produced by sweat glands that is passed throughnumerous microscopic channels opening onto the skin surface that forms aprotective layer often referred to as the acid mantle having aparticular level of acidity characterized by pH from about 4 to 5.5 (pHis well known term that describes the overall acidity or alkalinity ofan aqueous solution. For example, pure water is neutral and has a pHvalue of 7.0 whereas an acidic solution will have a pH value less than 7and an alkaline solution a pH greater than 7). Accordingly, the abilityto detect aspects of perspiration, or sweat, originating from theindividual wearing the electronic device can provide insight into ageneral condition of the individual's current state of health.

The embodiments shown and described relate to an electronic device. Theelectronic device can take the form of a wearable electronic device thatcan be attached to a garment worn by a user or carried with respect toan appendage (such as a wrist) of the user. These and other embodimentsare discussed below with reference to FIGS. 1-8. However, those skilledin the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description givenherein with respect to these Figures is for explanatory purposes onlyand should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an embodiment of an electronic device100, in accordance with the described embodiments. In some embodiments,the electronic device 100 is a mobile communication device, such as asmart phone. In other embodiments, the electronic device 100 is awearable computing device. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, theelectronic device 100 is a wearable electronic device designed to securewith an appendage (for example, an arm or a leg) of a user of theelectronic device 100.

Electronic device 100 may include an enclosure 102 formed from a rigidmaterial, such as a metal (including stainless steel or aluminum). Theenclosure 102 may be coupled with a first band 106 and a second band108, with the first band 106 and the second band 108 are designed tosecure the electronic device 100 to an appendage of a user. Also, theelectronic device 100 may include a display module 110 designed todisplay visual content, including a day and a time of the day. In someembodiments, the display module 110 is a light-emitting diode (“LED”)display. Further, in some embodiments, the display module 110 is anorganic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) display. The display module 110may further include a cover glass 112 disposed over the display module110. In addition to displaying time, the display module 110 may alsodisplay visual content based upon applications, or “apps,” stored on amemory circuit (not shown) disposed between the enclosure 102 and thedisplay module 110. For example, icon 118 can be used to indicate aparticular athletic activity whereas icon 120 can indicate current localconditions such as temperature.

The electronic device 100 may include several input featureselectrically coupled with one or more processors (not shown), anddesigned to control the display module 110. For example, as shown inFIG. 1, the electronic device 100 includes a first control input 114 anda second control input 116, each of which may be partially disposed inopenings of the enclosure 102. The first control input 114 may take theform of a dial design for clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation, withthe rotation used to control the display module 110. Further, the firstcontrol input 114 may be depressed to define a further control inputfeature. The second control input 116 may take the form of a button thatprovides an additional control input feature when depressed. Althoughnot shown, the first control input 114 and/or second control input 116may be disposed in other locations of the enclosure 102. Also, theelectronic device 100 may include more or fewer control inputs in otherembodiments. Further, the electronic device 100 may include a touchsensor (not shown) disposed behind (and in some cases integrated) withthe display module 110. This allows the user to further control thedisplay module 110 by depressing the cover glass 112 triggering thetouch sensor to generate a control input and alter the visual content ofthe display module 110.

Electronic device 100 can also include a sensor or a number ofinterconnected sensors that are operable as a sensor engine. The sensorscan be environmental sensors arranged to detect an aspect of anenvironment. By interconnected it is meant that individual sensors canbe in communication with each other directly or indirectly via anothercomponent, such as a processor. In an embodiment, some of theinterconnected sensors can be carried by enclosure 102 whereas othersensors can be carried by band 106 or 108. Regardless of theirlocations, the sensors can provide information that can be used toevaluate specific properties of an aspect of the local environment anddetermine an overall potential impact on a user's health or enjoyment ofa current or anticipated activity of the user. For example, if a sensoron band 106 detects a sample of water corresponding to at least athreshold amount of water (indicating that the user is submerged in abody of water), this information can be used to trigger or otherwisecause another sensor to detect a particular property of that samplewater, such as salinity. This information can be sent to a processor,for example, that can then trigger other sensors to operate to detectspecific water properties that taken together can form a health impactprofile corresponding to an anticipated health impact and provide anotification accordingly.

For example, FIG. 2 shows a rear view of electronic device 100 shown inFIG. 1 illustrating several openings in enclosure 102. For example,electronic device 100 may include a first opening 122 in the enclosure102 that may allow, for example, sampling by a sensor1 of the externalenvironment for the presence of, for example, ambient water. Forexample, the sensor engine can include a water sensor used to detect apresence of at least a threshold amount of water indicating thatelectronic device 100 is, for example, either partially or fullysubmerged by a body of water (in contrast to being exposed rain dropletsas an example). Also, the electronic device 100 may include a secondopening 124 in the enclosure 102 that may allow, for example, samplingof another specimen of the water by sensor2 for properties of the water.Although the first opening 122 and the second opening 124 are shown indistinct locations, the first opening 122 and the second opening 124 mayvary in location along the enclosure 102, and further, may vary in sizeand shape. Further, the number of openings may vary according to thefunctionality of the electronic device 100 as well as the number ofsensors associated with the sensor engine. For example, an additionalopening (not shown) may be used in conjunction with the first opening122 to enhance an amount of the water sampled or provide additionalinputs such as an air sample.

The electronic device 100 shown in FIG. 2 may include additionalfeatures that can be used to detect not just environment factors butfactors associated with the user. This information can be used todetermine a context in which the electronic device is being used. Forexample, if the user sensor detects that an elevated heart rate and/orbody temperature, the context of use can be that of running orexercising. For example, the electronic device 100 may include a lightsource 126 designed to emit light in the form of light pulses. In someembodiments, the light source 126 includes a light-emitting diode(“LED”). Further, in some embodiments, the light source 126 includes agenerally green color. Also, the electronic device 100 may include asensing element 128 (that can also be part of the sensor engine)designed to sense light from the light source 126 that is reflected by,for example, a user wearing the electronic device 100. Accordingly, insome embodiments, the sensing element 128 is a photoelectric sensor orphotodiode. Although a single light source and a single sensing elementare shown, other embodiments may include two or more light sources aswell as two or more sensing elements. In other embodiments, sensor 128can be used to detect an amount of perspiration, or sweat, on thesurface of the user's skin. In this way, sensor 128 can be used totrigger other sensors that can determine, for example, a pH level of thesweat, a presence of pathogens, chemicals associated with diseases, andso forth. Also, a cover 130, formed from a material such as glass orcrystal, may overlay the light source 126 and the sensing element 128,with the cover 130 being transparent in locations corresponding to thelight source 126 and the sensing element 128.

FIG. 3A shows representative cross sectional view of sensor system 300in accordance with the described embodiments. It should be noted housing102 of electronic device 100 could carry that sensor system 300. Asdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 1, housing 102 can include opening122 that can lead to cavity 302, or well, having volume V that definesat least a threshold amount of water indicating that electronic device100 is submerged or otherwise in contact with a substantial amount ofwater corresponding to a lake, stream, pool, ocean, and so forth. Itshould be noted that the orientation of opening 122 towards a rearportion of electronic device 100 allows that during normal use, opening122 is unlikely be in position such that water droplets associated withrain, lawn sprinklers, etc. can cross opening 122 such that thethreshold amount of water will accumulate within cavity 302. In thisway, false alerts or triggers can be avoided. Sensor 304 can bepositioned to receive a sample of water that has accumulated in cavity302 by way of sensor port 306 that corresponds to an opening in membrane308. In one embodiment, membrane 308 is water impermeable whereas inother embodiments, membrane 308 allows at least some water to pass fromcavity 302 to sensor 304. Flex 310 can be used to carry a detectionsignal from sensor 304 to circuitry 312. Circuitry 312 can take the formof another sensor, a processor, or any other appropriate electronicdevice. In order to prevent leaks, seals 314 can be placed betweenmembrane 308 and supports 316.

FIG. 3B shows representative cross section along line A-A of FIG. 2 ofband carried sensor 350 in accordance with the described embodiments.Sensor 350 can be carried by band 106 and/or band 108. Accordingly,sensor 350 can communicate with cavity 352 formed in band body 354.Cavity 352 can accommodate a threshold amount of water that can be thesame or different than that used to trigger sensor 300. In oneembodiment, membrane 356 can provide a transport path for wateraccumulated in cavity 352 to sensor 350. Sensor 350 can be connected toexternal circuitry by way of flex 358 configured to move with bendingand torsional movements of band body 106 or 108.

FIG. 4 shows system 400 in accordance with the described embodiments.System 400 can include sensor engine 402 that can include primarysensing layer 404 that can be used as a triggering mechanism for sensorengine 402. By triggering mechanism it is meant that primary sensinglayer 404 can be used to periodically monitor an external environmentfor a particular element of the external environment. More specifically,primary sensing layer 404 can determine that a threshold amount of theenvironmental element is present and if so can then trigger secondarysensing layer 406 arranged to detect a particular property of theenvironmental element. In some cases, tertiary sensing layer 408 can beused to detect other aspects of the environmental element based upon theactivity of secondary sensing layer 406. In any case, sensor engine 402can be in communication with data store 410 well suited for storing dataaccumulated by sensor engine 402. Processing layer 412 can provideprocessing resources that can be used to analyze relevant data providedby sensor engine 402 or retrieved from data store 410. Based upon theprocessing carried out by processing layer 412, notification layer 414can provide a notification in accordance with a pre-determined set ofconditions or observations provided by sensor engine 402. Thenotification can be related to aspects of the environmental element thata user can consider important or at least relevant to a health of theuser. The notification can provide a warning or other suggestions of acourse of action based upon current environmental conditions. In someembodiments, the notification can be based upon a current context of useof system 400. For example, if the context of use is that system 400 ispart of a wearable computing system attached to a user that is currentlyswimming, the notification can indicate dangerous conditions such as riptides or if system 400 is in communication with an external circuit(through a wireless connection, for example) the notification canprovide a warning of dangerous predators such as sharks are in the area.

FIG. 5 shows a particular implementation of system 400 as water sensingsystem 500 in accordance with the described embodiments. Water sensingsystem 500 can include water detection layer 502 arranged toperiodically monitor an external environment for water. Morespecifically, water detector 504 can periodically monitor for at least athreshold amount of water being present. When water detector 504determines that the threshold amount of water is present, then some orall of secondary sensors in property detection layer 506 are triggered.The secondary sensors can be configured to detect a particular propertyof the water such as, for example, salt content, pH, temperature, etc.In some cases, a context of use can be used to further refine the typesand numbers of secondary sensors called into action. For example, if ageo-location device indicates that system 500 is near a particular bodyof water, when water detector 504 detects the threshold amount of water,then selected ones of property detection layer 506 can be triggered thatare dedicated to detect particular properties of water in that area. Ifgeo-location data indicates that body of water is near a lake, thenbio-matter sensor 508 arranged to detect bio-matter such as harmfulpathogens and chemical sensor 510 for detecting harmful chemicals can betriggered. In some cases, additional sensors referred to as tertiarysensor 512 can be used to detect still further properties of the water.In any case, a processor can analyze sensor data and cause notificationlevel 514 to provide a notification that can be used to inform a user ofany pertinent information based upon the analysis performed by watersensing system 500. It should be noted that data store 516 could be usedto store relevant data.

FIG. 6 shows system 600 in accordance with the described embodiments.For example, when a threshold amount of water is detected by waterdetector 602, then salinity detector 604 can be used to determine thesalinity of the water and based upon that result, a determination can bemade that the water is either salt water or fresh water. If the water isdetermined to correspond to salt water, then a geo-location device canfix a current location as being an ocean 606 (or a lake). The locationcan also be indirectly determined by a context of use evaluation as wellas data received from the user in the form of user physical data(heartbeat, breathing rate, etc.) In this case, certain other sensorscan be called upon to detect particular properties of the salt waterassociated with the ocean and more particularly to the location at whichsystem 600 is positioned. The other sensors can be selected to determinean overall view of how benign the current environment is with regards toa user's health. For example, bio-matter sensor 608 can be used todetect pathogens and pH sensor 610 can be used to detect unsafe pHlevels. Moreover, other sensors such as chemical sensor 612 can be usedto detect dangerous chemicals whereas particulate sensor 614 can be usedto detect particulates. In any case, information from the sensors can beprocessed by processor 616 that can cause notification layer 618 toissue a relevant notification. For example, a notification can be issuedindicating that bio-matter and unsafe pH levels are detected (denoted by“YES”) whereas there is no need to trigger notification for chemicals orparticulates (denoted by “NO”).

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart 700 showing a method for using a wearableelectronic device as an environmental sensor/health monitor inaccordance with the described embodiments. Process 700 can be carriedout by detecting an amount of water at 702. At 704, a determination ismade whether or not the amount of water is at least a threshold amount.If it is determined that the amount of water is at least the thresholdamount, then a property of the water is detected at 706 and anotification is issued at 708.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an electronic device 800 suitable for usewith the described embodiments. The electronic device 800 illustratescircuitry of a representative computing device. The electronic device800 includes a processor 802 that pertains to a microprocessor orcontroller for controlling the overall operation of the electronicdevice 800. The electronic device 800 stores media data pertaining tomedia items in a file system 804 and a cache 806. The file system 804is, typically, a semiconductor memory, cloud storage, or storage disksor hard drives. The file system 804 typically provides high capacitystorage capability for the electronic device 800. However, since theaccess time to the file system 804 is relatively slow, the electronicdevice 800 can also include a cache 806. The cache 806 is, for example,Random-Access Memory (RAM) provided by semiconductor memory. Therelative access time to the cache 806 is substantially shorter than forthe file system 804. However, the cache 806 does not have the largestorage capacity of the file system 804. Further, the file system 804,when active, consumes more power than does the cache 806. The powerconsumption is often a concern when the electronic device 800 is aportable media device that is powered by a battery 824. The electronicdevice 800 can also include a RAM 820 and a Read-Only Memory (ROM) 822.The ROM 822 can store programs, utilities or processes to be executed ina non-volatile manner. The RAM 820 provides volatile data storage, suchas for the cache 806.

The electronic device 800 also includes a user input device 808 thatallows a user of the electronic device 800 to interact with theelectronic device 800. For example, the user input device 808 can take avariety of forms, such as a button, keypad, dial, touch screen, audioinput interface, visual/image capture input interface, input in the formof sensor data, etc. Still further, the electronic device 800 includes adisplay 810 (screen display) that can be controlled by the processor 802to display information to the user. A data bus 816 can facilitate datatransfer between at least the file system 804, the cache 806, theprocessor 802, and the CODEC 813.

In one embodiment, the electronic device 800 serves to store a pluralityof media items (e.g., songs, podcasts, etc.) in the file system 804.When a user desires to have the electronic device play a particularmedia item, a list of available media items is displayed on the display810. Then, using the user input device 808, a user can select one of theavailable media items. The processor 802, upon receiving a selection ofa particular media item, supplies the media data (e.g., audio file) forthe particular media item to a coder/decoder (CODEC) 813. The CODEC 813then produces analog output signals for a speaker 814. The speaker 814can be a speaker internal to the electronic device 800 or external tothe electronic device 800. For example, headphones or earphones thatconnect to the electronic device 800 would be considered an externalspeaker.

The electronic device 800 also includes a network/bus interface 811 thatcouples to a data link 812. The data link 812 allows the electronicdevice 800 to couple to a host computer or to accessory devices. Thedata link 812 can be provided over a wired connection or a wirelessconnection. In the case of a wireless connection, the network/businterface 811 can include a wireless transceiver. The media items (mediaassets) can pertain to one or more different types of media content. Inone embodiment, the media items are audio tracks (e.g., songs, audiobooks, and podcasts). In another embodiment, the media items are images(e.g., photos). However, in other embodiments, the media items can beany combination of audio, graphical or visual content. Sensor 826 cantake the form of circuitry for detecting any number of stimuli. Forexample, sensor 826 can include a Hall Effect sensor responsive toexternal magnetic field, an audio sensor, a light sensor such as aphotometer, and so on.

The foregoing description, for purposes of explanation, used specificnomenclature to provide a thorough understanding of the describedembodiments. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthe specific details are not required in order to practice the describedembodiments. Thus, the foregoing descriptions of the specificembodiments described herein are presented for purposes of illustrationand description. They are not targeted to be exhaustive or to limit theembodiments to the precise forms disclosed. It will be apparent to oneof ordinary skill in the art that many modifications and variations arepossible in view of the above teachings.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable consumer electronic product,comprising: a housing arranged to carry operational componentscomprising a processor; and, an interconnected group of sensors at leastone of which is carried by the housing and operable as a sensor enginein communication with the processor and comprising a first sensorcapable of detecting a threshold amount of water and a second sensorcapable of detecting a property of the water, wherein detection of thethreshold amount of water by the first sensor causes the second sensorto detect the property of the water.
 2. The wearable consumer electronicproduct as recited in claim 1, further comprising: a band coupled to thehousing and arranged to secure the housing to an individual appendage.3. The wearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim 1,wherein the first sensor and second sensor are carried by the housing.4. The wearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim 2,wherein only one of the first sensor and the second sensor is carried bythe housing and the other sensor being carried by the band.
 5. Thewearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim 1, wherein theproperty is selected from a group that includes a pH level of the water,a salinity of the water, a biological content of the water, aparticulate level of the water, a chemical content of the water, atemperature of the water.
 6. The wearable consumer electronic product asrecited in claim 1, wherein the sensor engine further comprises a thirdsensor that is activated based upon the property of the water detectedby the second sensor.
 7. The wearable consumer electronic product asrecited in claim 1, wherein the operational components comprise acircuit in communication with the sensor engine that is operable basedupon the property of the water detected by the sensor engine.
 8. Thewearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim 2, wherein thethreshold amount of water comprises perspiration originating from theindividual appendage.
 9. A method carried out by a wearable consumerelectronic product, comprising: detecting at least a threshold amount ofwater by a first sensor; detecting a property of the water by a secondsensor in communication with the first sensor; and, providing anotification in accordance with the detected property.
 10. The method asrecited in claim 9, further comprising: detecting another property ofthe water by another sensor in communication with at least the secondsensor.
 11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the notificationcomprises a warning based upon detected properties of the water.
 12. Themethod as recited in claim 9, the consumer electronic product furthercomprising a geo-location circuit arranged to determine a geo-locationof the wearable consumer electronic product.
 13. The method as recitedin claim 12, wherein the property detected by the second sensor is basedat least in part upon the geo-location of the wearable consumerelectronic product.
 14. The method as recited in claim 9, furthercomprising: detecting a physical condition of a person currently wearingthe wearable consumer electronic product; and, using the detectedphysical condition to modify the notification.
 15. A wearable consumerelectronic product, comprising: a housing arranged to carry operationalcomponents comprising a processor; and, a band having a pliable bandbody and a securing mechanism arranged to secure the band body to thehousing, wherein the pliable band body has a size and shape suitable forwrapping around an individual appendage, the band body comprising: anopening that leads to a cavity within the band body suitable foraccumulating an amount of water, and a band sensor embedded within theband body in communication with the cavity and capable of determiningthat the amount of accumulated water is at least a threshold amount ofwater.
 16. The wearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim15, wherein when the band sensor detects the threshold amount of waterwithin the cavity, the band sensor sends information to the processor.17. The wearable consumer electronic product as recited in claim 15,wherein when the band sensor detects the threshold amount of waterwithin the cavity, the band sensor sends information to an electroniccircuit carried by the band body.
 18. The wearable consumer electronicproduct as recited in claim 17, wherein the electronic circuit isanother sensor.
 19. The wearable consumer electronic product as recitedin claim 15, wherein the band sensor is capable of communicating withthe processor via a wireless communication channel.
 20. The wearableconsumer electronic product as recited in claim 15, wherein the bandsensor is capable of communicating with another sensor carried by thehousing.